POLLUTION CONTROL PLAN HALTED IN UTAH
An appeals court granted a request Monday from President Donald Trump’s administration to halt a plan for new pollution controls at Utah’s oldest coal-fired power plants aimed at reducing haze near national parks.
The development marks a reversal for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which last year under President Barack Obama unveiled the rules and defended itself in a lawsuit brought by Utah and Rocky Mountain Power.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals approved EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s request to halt that lawsuit while his agency revises a plan that called for new equipment to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at two coal plants in Emery County.
Environmental and clean air groups expressed dismay over the decision Monday that they say rejects EPA’s own research that showed the plan would have cut down haze near eastern Utah’s Arches and Canyonlands national parks, in addition to other conservation and wilderness areas.
States sue administration over economy standards.
DETROIT» New York, California and three other states are suing the Trump administration, saying it must put in place higher penalties for automakers that violate federal fuel economy standards.
The U.S. Department of Transportation more than doubled civil penalties for fuel economy violations last year after Congress ordered agencies to adjust their fines for inflation.
The new rule, which was set to take effect in July, would require automakers to pay $14 for every tenth of a mile per gallon of fuel a vehicle consumes over its minimum fuel economy, multiplied by the number of vehicles sold. Since the mid-1970s, automakers have paid $5.50 for every tenth of a mile per gallon over the limit.
Kraft Heinz names 29year-old chief financial officer.
Kraft Heinz, the producer of veteran food brands such as Velveeta cheese and Maxwell House coffee, has named David Knopf, a 29-yearold vice president, as its new chief financial officer effective Oct. 1.
Knopf, who was leading the Planters peanuts category for Kraft Heinz, has also been a partner with 3G Capital, the privateequity firm that has a reputation for aggressive-cost-cutting and partnered with Berkshire Hathaway to create Kraft Heinz.
Executive recruiters said the unusual move — the average age of a chief financial officer is 52 — has less to do with any trend in CFOs getting younger than with the particular culture of the people and the firm involved.
“To be selected as CFO of a company that’s this large with a global footprint and a global brand means he’s got to be a star,” said Charley Polachi, managing partner of an eponymously named executive search firm.
Judge allows sale of Alaska’s largest newspaper.
A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of Alaska’s largest newspaper for $1 million, saving the paper from folding this week.
Judge Gary Spraker made his decision Monday after hearing hours of testimony over the financial liabilities of the Alaska Dispatch News. In approving the sale, Spraker said it was the best option available, and way better than liquidation.
The new owners of the Anchorage newspaper are the Binkley Co., comprised of members of the Binkley family of Fairbanks and Alaska Media’s Jason Evans.